| This thesis explores how a 2001 American literary scandal---the selection of Jonathan Franzen's novel The Corrections by Oprah's Book Club and the subsequent disinvitation of the author from the program's book discussion---reflects critical elements in the historical dialogue between middlebrow reading practices and the gatekeepers of "Highbrow Literature," specifically, literary fiction. Jonathan Franzen's body of writing positions his work as literary fiction and contributes critically to the reception of his books. Readers respond to both textual and extra-textual elements of his writing that mark his work as "literary." Anxieties about the definition of that category surface when Franzen's work is picked up by a decidedly middlebrow reading institution, Oprah's Book Club. By considering this incident within a historical and theoretical context, I trace out its implications for contemporary American literature and its reading communities, specifically, how "literary fiction" is established, recognized and defended. |
